
But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland.

Silver working-the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars-has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.įor Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation-also known as Babel.īabel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell.
